Chunghwa Telecom unveils $1.5 billion plan to boost 5G deployment
Taiwan’s largest telecoms operator, Chunghwa Telecom, announced on Tuesday plans to drastically increase capital expenditures by a record high 82.8 percent to $1.5 billion for 2021, the company said.
The plan – expected to raise revenues by one percent – will include accelerated deployment of its 5G networks, submarine cables, and data centers across the country, as well as bolster its development of B2B oriented products and services.
“We remain focused on 5G development and business transformation initiatives in an effort to improve people’s lives, better manage across industries, and enhance manufacturing efficiency,” Chairman and CEO Chi-Mau Sheih in an earnings and guidance report for 2021.
It is worth mentioning that the company had allocated almost $850 million for capital expenditures at the beginning of last year.
Sheih further added that the operator will combine initiatives with mergers and acquisitions to enhance its competitive advantages, aiming to secure new growth opportunities in the evolving macro-economy and post-pandemic period, and from Taiwan government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development initiatives.
The telco chairman expressed Chunghwa’s willingness to accelerate 5G network construction, while taking advantage of their position as the largest bandwidth and highest frequency band provider in Taiwan.
Based on the earnings and guidance report for 2021, the company expects a hike in revenue within its mobile and ICT business model, which will look to counter the decline of fixed-line voice calls that was impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chunghwa Telecom had acquired last month mobile broadband equipment from Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy as well as Ericsson Taiwan for almost $450 million, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Chunghwa Telecom had 11.3 million mobile subscribers and 3.62 million broadband users as of the end of last year, along with 2.07 million subscribers to its multimedia-on-demand services.